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Colocation: Getting Out associated with the Data Center and into AWS

One of the first talks we gave after I started working at Rackspace was to a global financial company based in the UK that had just sunk several million dollars into a data center — but wanted to hear what I had to say about public cloud.

You might be thinking to yourself, ‘that seems out of order,’ and you’d be right. This company, like so many others we see, was now trapped under the weight of managing a data center and didn’t see an way that is easy.

Let’s face it, maintaining and owning a data center is expensive, and generally outside the scope of what most companies do. At a high level, to build and keep a powerful data center you have to plan for room, equipment, resources and staffing. Once you’ve accomplished that, you then need to figure out how to make it redundant. With a recipe that is complicated this, you are able to understand why organizations desire to dump their data centers as quickly as they could.

Nonetheless, numerous businesses are also upside down in their data center assets and have not seen depreciation that is enough justify migrating down.

Now, about me, you know I am a public cloud fanatic if you know anything. I mean, it’s my job title: Public Cloud Evangelist. So in my opinion, all workloads should be in a public cloud and that’s the end of the discussion. But I’m also a realist. I understand that its not all workload is good for public cloud (pains me to state). We also realize that, even if a move to general public cloud makes sense, climbing out from under a data center is not an task that is easy.

So, what is a ongoing company that desires out of maintaining a data center but has too much invested doing?

1u colocation pricing is the clear answer
This is exactly the problem Rackspace is searching to resolve with this new Rackspace colocation Services and Infrastructure Management. With colocation you continue to use your hardware, but you no longer have to worry about all that goes into maintaining the data center. The expertise is provided by us, data center space, cooling and energy.

Also, with Rackspace colocation solutions and Infrastructure Management you’ll take advantage of RackConnect Global, which links your colocated environment to a public cloud provider, a Rackspace data center, or back into an on premises data center, all with a private, low-latency connection.

Going to the AWS Cloud
To a cloud enthusiast like myself, the capacity to connect your colocated data center to a cloud that is public like AWS opens up a whole world of options. First, it offers the immediate opportunity to dip your toes in the cloud waters, without having to write off your hardware. The great thing about AWS is the fact that dipping your toes in means using services like AWS car Scaling for application elasticity and Amazon RDS for offloading relational database management.

Let me walk you through a scenario that is possible. Let’s say I am the CTO of an enterprise company that runs a large e-commerce platform out of my personal data center. We have actually a amount that is substantial of invested in hardware and licensing and am not ready to throw that away. However, I also host my site that is corporate and, third-party websites away from that same data center.

One stunning Monday morning, I have a call from my CEO saying that our business just isn’t within the estate that is real anymore and we have to dump our data center without it hitting our pocket book too hard.

I’m in a pinch, but after doing some extensive research i come up with a plan.

How it works
First, I partner with Rackspace to colocate my hardware that is existing to of its world class data centers. Then, Rackspace helps me plan and execute my migration. As a follow up, I will take advantage of RackConnect and move my company into the hybrid world by off-loading the hosting of my corporate and third party internet sites to AWS. By causeing this to be move I am able to make the most of the nature that is elastic of AWS Cloud while still maintaining my current equipment and licensing at Rackspace.

There are hundreds of scenarios that make feeling when you yourself have usage of hybrid cloud expertise and capabilities at your fingertips. It allows you to complement workload procedures to providers or architectures that excel in that sort of work. And uk colocation allows you to include your existing hardware in the equation.

You’re not alone
If your business is assessing the ownership of a data center and feel just like an exit strategy is impossible due to already spent funds, I encourage you to take a good look at a colocation uk option.

You will not be alone. In surveying over 850 companies, IDC’s Quantitative Research Group found that only around 30 percent of those surveyed are keeping their data centers that are own. And within couple of years, significantly more than two-thirds of the participants will be utilizing a infrastructure provider that is third-party.

You get the most value out of this step in your cloud journey if you decide to go the cheap colocation route, Rackspace has the expertise and capabilities to help.

With a uk server colocation at Rackspace, you are truly beginning a digital transformation journey with a company that can help you from beginning to end. Let us get you started with Rackspace colocation and help the leap is made by you to cloud.